Second Floor
by Taylor9515
Summary: Furukawa Miki is just a normal high school student, or at least she tries to be. She holds a secret that she is afraid to let go of. Will revealing it become her key to being a famous singer? Join Miki and her band, the Vocaloids, in their journey to stardom. As for pairings, well, read between the lines and maybe you'll find some where I didn't. They'll be coming later.
1. Prologue

_ This was the best party ever._

_ I was just leaving my friend's friend's basement. The guys were leading the way, tripping over themselves trying to hold the door for whoever they thought was cute. We had danced and sung all night long so that now, it was an hour till dawn. _

_ My friend had asked whether I wanted to go to this party or not. It was the last time I would ever get to see her, so of course I had said yes. I had promised, even if I had to sneak out. And that was a good thing, because I did. No one knew where I was. No one at the party but my friend knew who I was, but I was still surprised when half the boys held the door open for me at once. Too bad I wasn't here for romance. If they knew that, they would have let that door smack me._

_ Once we were outside, we all piled into a bunch of cars and drove off, making sure we all had a seat. I got a passenger seat in the front of a truck. My friend's boyfriend was in the driver's seat. I started to talk to a couple of people in the back. My attention was turned back to the road with the screeching of tires._

_ Five of the cars in front of us were doing donuts in the Wal-Mart parking lot. I heard the driver say, "Let's break that up," and charge straight at them. I screamed. The sound of crunching metal was deafening, and I saw was the passenger of the car we hit. He was right in front of me, and he would have bodily hit me if we were in the opening. Maybe he did. The last thing I saw was his wide, silvery eyes, A foot from my face and showing as much terror as I felt._


	2. Chapter 1

"Aah!" I yelled, sitting straight up in bed. The alarm clock was buzzing, like one of those heart rate monitors in the ER. I was both thankful of it for waking me up from that horrible nightmare, and creeped out by it because it related so closely to the dream. If only the dream wasn't real.

I got up and went to the closet, dragging my feet. I dressed myself and walked a bit faster to the restroom, all the while trying to forget the memory that haunts me in my sleep. My tangle of blonde hair didn't help my mood. I could have died that day. But, somehow, my parents had fallen into a small fortune the day before from my uncle's passing. They spent it immediately to save my life, but then decided I wasn't worth the money and sent me to boarding school. That was last August.

As the date of the accident resurfaced in my head, so did the realization that today was the start of the last week of school. To that, I cheered. I rushed through breakfast, pack my backpack, and run out the door.

Only to slam into Gumi.

"Ouch!" my friend yelled as she was knocked against the other wall. Her bag dropped from her arm and burst open, letting the contents loose at our feet.

"I'm sorry", I said already kneeling to help clean up the mess.

"No biggie, she said to me and finished picking up her stuff. I knew she's not really okay, but she was too nice to point out why. Ever since the accident, I've been particularly sensitive on a couple subjects. "Last week of school!" she cried, hugging me, "Doesn't it feel great?"

"Yes, it does," I said back. We walked down the hall talking about nothing. It felt good to be around my best friend after that nightmare. I'm pretty sure that she knew I was upset about something, but she didn't bring it up.

"Hey, Miki. Did you know that Crypton is planning to hold an audition? They want to hire more singers."

"Really? So soon?" It felt like just hired Gumi's older sister, Luka. "Why?"

"I'm not sure. Luka came home yesterday and told me that. She refused to say anything else, but you could tell that she really wanted to."

"I'm sure we'll find out soon. Kaito is always in the know about that place."

"Not this time. I already asked him, and he was _surprised_. I'm sure his eyes are an inch from his laptop and his fingers are bruised." I laughed. That mental image was perfect.

We arrived at our homeroom, which was also our 1st period math class. Half the class was there, and Kaito was nowhere to be seen. His laptop was sitting on his desk and was wearing a brown wig. I bid farewell to Gumi and took my spot next to Meiko. She was kind of awkward to talk to, and always had to make her opinion known, but friendly all the same.

"Last week of school!" she chanted under her breath. I smiled. There was no need to respond to that, because she already knew that I felt the same way. "How do you feel about your final?"

We had already taken the exams, a week ahead of the school's plans, and they had yet to be graded. That's one benefit of having Hiyama-sensei as a teacher; he always knows how to get on the students' good sides. Now, all the class had to do to please the administration was _pretend_ to be working, learning optional.

"Good morning, class," Hiyama-sensei started.

"Good morning," the class chorused back.

"Today, we will be pioneers. We will be traveling to an area of mathematics where no person has ever gone before and been paid for success." The whole class started murmuring to each other. He just promised last Friday that there would be no more work, didn't he? Was this some dumb joke? "We will attempt to measure the time it takes for a large group of people to strengthen the relationships between themselves and their acquaintances." Silence followed while I translated that to plain Japanese. Our teacher smiled as we groaned. It was a dumb joke, just filled with too many big words.

"Have fun! And don't forget your units." Hiyama-sensei sat down and watched the class. Almost as one, we took out pads of notebook paper. The sound of scribbling filled the room, closely followed by a lot of tearing. I throw my wadded up note at Meiko. And of course, I get hit in the head by Gumi's. Five wads flew and hit the laptop's wig. It jumped up and revealed a Kaito with bags under his eyes.

"Good shot, Gumi. Be more careful, we don't want any data lost by collisions." We all laughed as our teacher stood up and started keeping a tally on the Smart Board. He had to look the part of a responsible teacher for the school board. If someone were to look in right now, he or she would see a teacher scolding his students. Talk about good acting!

I enjoyed that class much more than any other class that day. Japanese was a bore, English was worse, and History officially sucked. The only other periods I liked were lunch and the last class of the day.

"Music!" Gumi always shows her excitement better than I do. If I yelled a single word with that much enthusiasm, I'd be the laughing stock of the century. The teacher, who had a very weird English name nobody could remember, was standing at the front of the classroom. He was wearing a grin very reminiscent of a child with a lollipop. I wonder what she has in store for us.

"Good afternoon, class."

"Good afternoon!" I called with the rest. Gumi nearly drowned me out.

"I have good news and better news. Which would you like first?" I open my mouth to call 'good' Gumi beats me to the punch.

"Better!"

"Crypton has announced that tomorrow night they will start what essentially is a singing tournament that will decide the next artist they will employ." Gumi and I stare at each other with matching expressions. That must have been what Luka had hinted to her sister. "But that's not all. Whoever wants to enter merely has to post a song done by them on YouTube with a title that mentions the contest. It must be either a cappella or instruments, no synthesizers."

"What's the good news, Sensei?" I called.

"I'm a judge!"

We as a class congratulated out teacher. As a sort of reverse gift, he dismissed us all right then, with the excuse that he should go and 'practice'. Gumi and I ran straight to the roof. It's a sort of rendezvous point for us. We hang out there all the time, and, as expected, we met the other three there. All five of us fought for the right to speak first. Our group, made up of Sakine Meiko, Shion Kaito, Megurine Gumi, me, and a girl who calls herself Serena. But with our accents, it kinda sounds like See-ree-nuh. When I moved here at the start of the term, Gumi had introduced me to them. I was lucky enough to land in the same school as her in the first place.

Meiko won. "What should our band be called?" Already two steps ahead of manners, Meiko never bothers to be polite and ask the questions she knows the answers to.

"More importantly," I interject, "who's going to play what?"

A few moments passed while everyone thought. Kaito was the first to speak. "I can sing bass in a cappella and play bass in band." _Consistent_ I thought.

"I call guitar!" Gumi called. "and Serena can play the keyboard."

"I'll play drums," Meiko offered, "and that leaves Miki with the mic." I frowned. I like singing, but I would have preferred the kit.

"But none of us have a drum kit. How will we get the beat down? Meiko, you can't even click your tongue, let alone beatbox." All of us thought about this a bit, then Gumi nervously put her hand up.

"I have good name for us and a way to get percussion in a cappella, but you need to…" She was looking at me.

"What do you me-" That's when it hit me. "You mean… my…?" Gumi nodded.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Kaito started, "but I think we should call ourselves the Crypton Kickers." Kaito looked at Meiko and Serena for approval and didn't get it. "What do you think, Miki?" I didn't respond. "Why are you staring at your arm?"

Gumi rolled her eyes. "You never told them?"

"Nope," I said, already liking her idea, in a sort of grim way. I was already thinking of that rhyme, the one talks about learning to live with your problems. "I think it's time, though." Gumi smiled.

"What is it?" Serena asked.

"The name" Gumi said, "is the Vocaloids. It means Vocal…"

"Androids," I finish. I make a point by bending my hand too far back and twisting it. A small whine came from my wrist and three of my friends jumped in surprise.

"Oh, by the way, I'm a cyborg," I said with a grim satisfaction.


	3. Chapter 2

They just stared at me. I couldn't tell what they were thinking, the traces of shock still showing on their faces. Gumi was laughing her butt off. We stayed like this for a whole minute. Then the questions came.

"How long?" Meiko choked out.

"About 9 months," I responded kindly.

"Can you feel anything?" Kaito asked approaching me slowly, as if afraid I was going to bite.

"Not on my limbs." Kaito hesitated. "A cyborg is still a human, you know."

"What?" Gumi started explaining to him the difference between an android and a cyborg.

I looked at Serena. "Do you have a question?" she nodded, but very slowly.

"Yeah, how did I not notice? Looking back on it now, you've been showing small signs of it all year."

That confused me. "What signs?"

Serena looked a little disheveled. "You know. Every time Gumi walks into class with a sore hip, she says that you accidentally bumped her in the hallway again." That made me wince. "You always wear long sleeves and long pants, you avoid touching anything fragile unless you really have to, you always have gloves on when you touch other people, and you hum a lot."

"Wait. I hum?" I don't recall ever humming in class. Unless I was in Music.

"Yes, the kind of hum that a computer makes. The kind no one can hear unless everything else is deathly silent. Everyone stopped talking then. Nothing made a sound. Except me. She was right.

"That's weird. I never noticed that before."

"At least you don't run on diesel," Meiko jibed. That made everyone laugh. When we all finished, another question came to mind.

"How do you know these things?" I asked Serena.

She started looking a bit sad. "My brother was in a car crash last summer. He nearly didn't survive. All that was left of him was his vocal chords and a handful of vitals." We all shuddered, the mental image a bit too much to imagine. "But some guy walked in at nearly the last second, said he was from some foundation that nobody knows about, and donated millions of dollars to his cause. The replaced nearly all of him with robotic parts. He's now nearly an android."

"Wow," I whispered. _And I thought I was doing badly_.

"When he finally recovered, he was made fun of. For being and android, for being customizable, and, most of all, for running on electricity."

"How would a person run on electricity?" asked Gumi.

"I don't know," Serena admitted, "but he can't eat anything; his new throat can't swallow solids. He had to plug himself into this special generator at night."

I was confused. "Had?"

"He ran away a few months ago." Serena looked as if she were about to cry.

"I'm sorry." Meiko went to her and put her arm around her shoulders. Serena leaned into her friend, welcoming the comfort. "If I had seen him, I wouldn't have made fun of him. At least, after I got over the shock." She sighed. "On a lighter note, I like the name of the band. It has a ring to it, and I think we should keep it."

"I've got an idea," Kaito said, "We should go to our dorms and change into some of the gaudiest clothes we can find. That way, we can look out of place, like androids, but also be memorable. If were good enough, our outfits could be symbolic."

I smiled. "Yes, that's a good idea. Let's do that. Meet back here in a few minutes?"

Everyone agreed. We wanted to be some of the first to finish.

30 minutes later, we were all on the roof, rolling on the floor laughing, literally, at each others' outfits.

Kaito was wearing what looked like a sparkly white trench coat, only it was thinner. It had blue trim, blue pockets, and yellow accents. Don't get me started on the blue wig.

Serena wore a small orange and gray dress and white stockings. Her white-blonde, knee-length hair was splayed out and slightly curly. This wouldn't be that funny except for the cat ears.

Gumi was wearing a short orange vest and skirt over a pale yellow dress. She had already dyed her blonde hair orange and was wearing white sleeve cuffs that had been part of a long-sleeved dress shirt.

I was wearing a white dress that would be knee length if it didn't billow out like an umbrella. This thing didn't have any sleeves, just some huge, fluffy trim that raised my shoulders about two inches. I had some thin red and blue-striped gloves and some starry cuffs I had found cute about five years ago. I wish I hadn't thrown away that flashy sash that my grandmother had given me.

Meiko, who was the most normal-looking, was laughing the hardest. She was just wearing a shiny, red two-piece dress that revealed her entire stomach.

It took us a while to get over how good we looked in these closet monstrosities. When we finally pulled ourselves together, I said, "Well, we are memorable. I don't think the judges will forget us if they tried."

"Does anyone want to try singing something?" Kaito said.

"Dream Fighter," Gumi said, "by Perfume." _Of course she would say that_.

"Sure," I said. Everyone else agreed as well. Gumi pulled out her iPod and played it. We all listened to it a couple of times, dividing up parts and rearranging it a bit, mainly because Kaito's a guy, and we were off.

I had already figured out some of the noises my arms could make, I was ready for this one. I clenched my right arm to my side as hard as I could and held my left arm away from me. By rolling my right shoulder, I could make those synthesizer sounds, with my body lowering the pitch of the sound. Also, I could make the clicks and thumps of the drum kit with my left elbow and right knee respectively. Of course, the noise was not muted, because I had no sleeves or pant legs to cover them. The only thing I couldn't do that I knew of was the piano and cymbals, which I made up for with my mouth.

Kaito was singing some long chords under the lead. His voice, though mildly strained for his higher range, was blending almost too well with my imitations of the drum kit and keyboard. You almost couldn't tell it apart from the actual thing. Gumi entered, sounding exactly the part, almost as if she was meant to sing it. The song continued, Gumi, Meiko, and Serena trading of the lead just as Perfume did it. Almost no time at all had passed when we finished.

We just stood there for a few minutes, the smiles on our faces replacing hours' worth of fangirl ramble. The bell rang, but we didn't care. We had just made fantastic music on our first try. Then I heard someone came up the stairs. I quickly threw on the jacket that I had brought with me and pulled on some tights. I don't know why, but I wasted to keep my identity secret from the world for now. I saw that my friends did the same, Kaito taking off his jacket instead of covering it. The person was Hiyama-sensei. We all jumped when he made a spoke, but he only looked confused.

"Do any of you know where the music was coming from? It sounded like Perfume was up here." We looked around at each other, hoping someone else would know what to say. Gumi spoke up.

"I was having them listen to it." She pulled out her iPod again and hit play. We heard Perfume start singing again. Our math teacher laughed.

"What did you do, try to sing it yourself? Come on, play the original."

The rest of us stood awkwardly, but Gumi switched to something else on her music player. We heard our voices coming out of it now. Of course, it somehow sounded much better than our real voices. I looked at her quickly, surprised. She had a completely straight face.

"That's the one. That's what I must have heard. I should get that for myself sometime." He left.

I waited until Hiyama-sensei was out of earshot, then started laughing as hard as I could. Everyone else joined me.

"We already have a fan, do you think we should try again?" I asked. "Or we can just post it right now."

"We should take a video of it," said Meiko, "just in case they think were cheating. Also, since we all want to keep this a secret, we should use code names."

"What are you saying? All of us find a different name?" Gumi asked, disbelief showing in her eyes."

"No, just a nickname. One that doesn't make who we are obvious. I'm just gonna drop my surname and capitalize my given name. That way it looks and sounds like a name that would be given to a robot, or a Vocaloid." _Okay, _now_ you make sense_.

"GUMI sounds good," Gumi said, "and so does KAITO, but SERENA and MIKI don't have the same ring."

"Easily fixed," said Serena, "I'll go by SeeU."

"That sounds good." said Kaito. "Better than SERENA, anyway."

"Now what will I go by?" I asked. I had no clue what to call myself. "I like MIKI, but I feel like it needs a bit more. Maybe a serial number."

"How about 41ic3?" Kaito said. "or 837h?"

""I have no idea where you're getting those numbers, but they need to mean something."

"What about that?" Serena was pointing at my left wrist. I looked as well, and I found my old hospital bracelet.

"I didn't know that was still there. It's from nine months ago after my… accident."

Serena sighed. "I know that, but look." She walked up to me and took my hand. "See, look. You were on the _Second Floor_, in Room_ A_, you were the _Second_ patient in that room. S..F..A..2." She made her point by circling the letters and numbers on my bracelet.

"SF-A2 Miki," I repeated to see if it sounded good. It did. "That's perfect."

Meiko put her hand in the center of our group. "Let this mark the day that our band is officialy made." We all put our hands on top of hers. "to Vocaloids. On 3, 2, 1, …"

"To Vocaloids!"


	4. Chapter 3

We went to our rooms to think about how we were going to do things. I wanted to keep our band a secret until after the selection took place, and so did everybody else. But how was I going to make myself different. Covering my arms and legs and arms were a start, but what about my head. Everyone knew what I looked like, so SF-A2 Miki and my long, blonde hair would be a dead giveaway. The only option would be to dye my hair.

I opened up my cabinet and found all the hair dyes that Gumi had given me. She had always said that blond wasn't my color, so she always sent samples of color rinses, nothing permanent in case I didn't like it. More like if _she_ didn't like it. I had them sorted in a rainbow, white to pink, red to purple, brown and black. No blonde. I picked up the green one first. About 15 minutes later, I was standing in front of the mirror, modeling bright green locks. It was hideous on me, but I had an idea. I dialed Gumi's number.

"_Hello?_" she answered after the second ring.

"Hi, Gumi, it's me. I was just trying on some of the rinses you sent me, and I've decided on green."

"_Really?_" she said, the surprise registering in her voice. "_I thought you'd pick something in the deep reds. How does it look?_"

"I don't know yet, you haven't shown me." I hung up. I think the color would look better on Gumi than me. "Time to try on red."

I stepped in the shower and washed the color out. Then I grabbed one of the darker reds.

"She was right, again," I said when I saw myself in the mirror. The red nearly matched my eyes, and the trim on my band outfit. It was almost like the color was made for me. I turned on my computer and hooked up the webcam. The laptop chimed as I got redressed in my concert attire.

"How ironic." I had sworn I wouldn't wear this thing when I first saw it. My mom had bought it anyway; calling it a Christmas gift and making me wear it for the day. But now, I was planning on wearing it during a YouTube video that was likely to be viewed by the entire population of Japan and some of America.

I took a picture of myself with the webcam, e-mailed it to my friends, and said 'I'm ready'. While I waited for them to come over, I found a red and black belt with a piece of framed glass as the buckle and had an artsy idea. By the time they got over, I had already hooked a yellow light to the back of the glass and carved it to say A2. I put it on as soon as Gumi came in with green hair.

"You were right," she started off. "I do look better in green hair. Nice belt, by the way."

"Thanks, I just carved in the initials."

Meiko, Kaito, and Serena had also made minor tweaks to their costumes as well. Kaito had bleached his hair once, making it a dirty blond. It would take at least three more tries to make it light enough to dye blue. Meiko now wore red, fingerless gloves, one of which she was in the process of painting with about five different shades of gray and silver paint she had brought. I had no idea what it was for. Serena had painted SU on the inside of her left bicep, right by the elbow, in orange. It was a place that could be easily hidden by the clothes she normally wears. She had also added a small brooch that looked like a power button on a computer.

"Are we going to start recording soon?" I asked Meiko. She nodded and took off her gloves. "What are you doing? Those gloves looked nice as they were."

"Oh, I was just painting them." She held up the one she was painting. It already had overlapping gray patterns on it. "A bit like wires, don't you think?"

"That's a great idea," Serena said. "I wish I could have thought of that."

"You shouldn't," Kaito said. "Your costume's perfect as it is. Mine needs something, though, but I can't figure out what."

I stepped back and looked at him for the moment. An idea came to mind. "I know just the thing." I walked over to my closet and pulled out a long, blue scarf, and throw it around his neck. "There we go!"

Meiko spoke up. "Hey, Miki? Can you open yourself up?" My face must have hinted some of the confusion I felt, because she continued. "I mean, can you open up your arms or something."

"Oh, not fully. I only know how to do my lower arms. Long story short, I was waking up as they were finishing the operation." I touched my right forearm with the four fingers on my left hand. Then, I rotated my arm to the left and move my fingers toward my elbow. The outside metal was sliding back before I removed my fingers. When it opened up, you could see every bit of gear, wire, hydraulic, and bit of metal inside. The creepy part was that I could still use the arm.

I raised my arm as if I were showing off my new nail polish, red by the way, not that anyone could see them past my gloves, and wiggled my fingers. "How's that?"

"Perfect," Meiko said, and before I knew it, she was next to me, putting something in my arm. "This is a microphone," she said before I could object. "It's the kind most spies put on their throats. It won't jam anything if put in the right place, and you don't have to try as hard to get the sounds you want."

I closed my arm by tapping my elbow and wiggled my arm. Some of the hydraulic sound came out of Meiko's laptop. I snapped my arm to full length, and the click sounded just like a metronome or a rim-shot. Maybe the wood-on-wood sound of clicking drum sticks. "Meiko, as usual, your two steps ahead of everyone else."

"Who else is a bit creeped out?" Kaito said, raising his hand and looking a little green. Serena raised her hand as well.

"In theory, it sounds cool that you can open up your limbs, but in person, it's kinda disturbing."

"That's why I kept it secret for so long. But anyway, I'll ask my doctors how to open the rest of my robotics during the next check-up. For now, we can put the microphones on the outside." That last bit was for Meiko, who already had seven more; four for my legs, two for my upper arms, and one for the remaining forearm.

We set up my dorm for the recording. It took longer than I thought it would. We had to move all of my furniture to one side, set up the cameras, rig the lights to dim and brighten by remote, and put up some sound-resistance around the room (my spare blankets, quilts, and towels). As an added precaution, I took my name off the outside of the door. Then, we were ready to start.

Singing Dream Fighter went even smoother the second time, if that was possible. Mostly because of the sticky, skin-colored mics that Meiko had stuck to me. I didn't have to try as hard to get the right sounds out. Also, Kaito and I found it easier for him to drop down to his usual range and help with some of my longer keyboard notes and have me replace his chords. I even surprised myself by incorporating my clicking metal into less awkward dance moves.

From there, we just used my laptop to upload it to YouTube. I made sure we were all in every shot. I started out with the introduction Gumi had made, that included a 360 view of the room and a downwards glance to prove that there was no electronic editing involved. Gumi had set that camera down in front of Meiko's laptop, which had the electronic readings from all 13 mics (nine of them mine, but labeled like 'UAR, UAL, LAR, LAL for upper arms and the like). We had the other two cameras pointing at us from two different angles. Those we swiched between while keeping the first one in the bottom-right hand corner. Our codenames were in the credits, with me listed as Misc. Sounds and as Alto. Figure _that_ one out, YouTubers!

I hit upload. "What do you think?" I asked the rest of our official band.

"I hope we make the top ten," Serena said. "That sounded pretty good."

"Pretty good!" Meiko exclaimed, "There is no way we're getting below the top five!"

"I just hope we did enough to prove you weren't a synthesizer, Miki," Kaito said.

"No, Kaito. This time, _we_ were the synthesizer. And yes, I don't want to be disqualified because of a miscommunication."

"All we can do is wait," said Gumi. "We might as well get to bed, now that it's seven minutes to 10." That got us all up and running. The demolition of the setup was way faster than the setup. Five minutes later, the furniture was back in place, the cloth was in the drawers, and my friends were running back to their dorms to beat curfew. I slipped my name tag back on the outside of my door, and then took a cold shower, washing off the temporary red rinse.


	5. Chapter 4

I walked into homeroom on Wednesday and found the excited buzz waiting for me. The whole class was talking of the competition Crypton had announced the day before. Already, people were discussing their favorite music videos. I rushed over to my group in the corner (Hiyama-sensei said free-seating) and sat down.

"How's it going?" I asked.

Kaito laughed. "How's it going? See for yourself." He turned his laptop around. "This is the top three videos liked by the internet." I looked at the three tabs Kaito had open. The Vocaloids were in first! We were followed in close second by a professional band called ICE MOUNTAIN.

"Why the heck are the Vocaloids in first?" I said, hoping that I could ask this question correctly from third person. "I mean, where did they come from? How come they haven't shown up before now?"

It was Meiko's turn to laugh. "They came out of nowhere. Apparently, this girl named SF-A2 Miki started this band recently, looking to represent all the shunned androids of the world. So much so that she and her friends had dressed mega retro, almost futuristically, and put on make-up to make themselves look robotic. At least, that's what the top comment says. It even quotes the lyrics of the song."

Serena leaned forwards. "Another comment, one of the least liked, says that these people are making fun of actual androids, with their parody names."

Gumi spoke up. "There has been so much debate about whether they used synthesizers or not. The comments argue back and forth between the proof they showed of no electronic sounds and it being physically impossible."

I laughed, admiring the irony of our conversation. "What about this ICE MOUNTAIN?"

"They seem to be a professional band that plays at some open bars, but not as well known as other bands," Kaito said. "Here, I'll play it for you." He handed me an ear bud and hit play. A beautiful song started suddenly, telling of deep sorrow and wishful thinking. It was a short song, but very emotional. It was over in less than two minutes, and when I put the ear bud down, Kaito started speaking again. "This band is known by some for their heart-felt songs, the kind with some sort of meaning. But, apparently, the Vocaloids countered that with their own meaningful song choice."

I pulled out my computer just as the bell rang to go from homeroom to first. None of us move, because we all have Hiyama-sensei for our Math teacher. I hear a soft ping come from my computer, as well as several others' around the room. While I merely had to open my e-mail account, it was funny to watch some people try to walk while opening their laptops. When I opened my e-mail, there were no new messages.

"Try the _other_ one," Kaito prompted in a whisper. I knew exactly what he meant. I went to the one I had created just for our band and found two messages. The first was from Crypton!

"Don't stare," scolded Meiko, "Open it."

I opened the message, and we all read silently as one. 'Good morning, tournament participants. The judging has taken place, and we have decided on twenty-five winners, though two stood out beyond the rest. We would like you, the Vocaloids, to perform another selection to prove of your worthiness in our competition.' At this point, we hear a couple of sharp intakes of breath around the room, as well as several sighs. Apparently, we weren't the only ones reading about the competition. We keep reading. 'The other competitors know that you will be performing again and will be waiting for your second video. If this video does not prove to us the… _authenticity_ of your singing, one of them will take your place. Synthesizers are not allowed, and we hope you didn't try to ignore this statement. Anyway, we have also placed an ad for another song that you can use for this competition. With, you being a favorite of millions on the Internet, someone should want to write a song for you. Be expecting several messages for song ideas at this address. Good Luck! Crypton.'

Typing was already filling the room. I looked around to see everyone typing as fast as they could. Some of them were humming or mouthing words. "Uh-oh!" I say to myself, predicting a crashed inbox very soon. I start typing as fast as _I_ could, installing several redirectories and opening several new e-mails, so that my original wouldn't crash. When I was done, the room was already hitting enter keys.

"Wow," was all any of us could say. Serena said it first when all twenty auxiliary e-mails started filling up. Meiko echoed it when the first one stopped working. Kaito said it third when the total number went over one million. Gumi and I said it when it took me five minutes to close them all down. I opened up the original e-mail account, where the lone message stood from before the chaos. It seemed amazing that it could have happened at all.

"What do you think we should do?" I asked them. "We have so many options."

Gumi looked at the screen. "It looks like this one is about music. Let's open that one up." So we did.

It was from a boy named Kagamine Len. By what he said in the e-mail, his father was a billionaire who spent all his time building and designing prosthetic limbs and organs for people who need them. He is one of the most advanced mechanics in the world. When he saw our video, he knew immediately that I was one of his patients. He wanted us to know that he was very appreciative of us. But the most interesting part was that Len wanted us to sing a song that he and his twin sister, Rin, had written to cheer up all of their father and his patients.

The e-mail came attached with a document. We opened it up and found all the parts needed for us, Lyrics and all. The children must have been a genius, because it was nearly perfect. It just needed some minor tweaking to adjust to the band's voices. But it was the one.

I opened my mouth to say something, but Gumi beat me to it. "We don't even need to look at the others, do we?" We all nodded our heads. Gumi reached over me and typed a reply. Not even a minute later, Len e-mailed back with a question. 'Do you have Skype?' I typed back, 'I have Skype, but am not in the position to use it. High school.'

'Which one?'

I was shocked. Did he really think that we were that close? I told him.

'Meet me in the basement in ten.'

"You should go to the bathroom now," Meiko whispered to my ear. I nodded. Of course she already knew I was going. "Dye your hair." I raised my hand.

"Furukawa?" said the teacher.

"May I go to the restroom?"

"Yes, but not for too long."

I ran to my dorm as soon as I was in the hall. My hair color switched faster than you could say Vocaloid, and I was on my way to the basement. When I shut the door, the light turned on, revealing a short kid with blond, no older than 12. "Hello, he said to me."

"Hello," I said back. "Are you Len?"

"Yes!" He smiled, happy that I recognized him. How could this kid be the one who wrote that amazing song. "How do you like my song?"

"It's … awesome, to say the least." I had to interrupt his cheering to say more. "But, I've got a problem." Now he was listening. "Crypton wants to believe that we are an a capella group, but the synthesizer sounds are a bit to real to believe. I've been using my arms and legs to make the sounds." I drew my right sleeve back to show him. "but all I know how to open up is my lower arm. How do I prove to them that this is for real?"

"Here." He stood up and walked over to me. "To open up your upper arm, just continue that motion across tour elbow to the back of it, and then up to your shoulder." He showed me how to do that. My arm opened up to his touch. "Then, to open up your legs, you to the same thing. Almost." He traced the pattern on my leg, moving his four fingers from my lap, to the hip, then down to the front of my knee, and then down to my outside ankle while turning his hand. The jeans tore to follow his command. "Sorry."

"It's okay. I never liked these jeans, anyway. Thanks for showing me." I turned to leave, but he grabbed my wrist.

"Um, can I ask you a favor?"

"Anything," I say to him, kneeling down to below his height.

"Can you dedicate your video to my father, Dell Honne. It's his birthday tomorrow, and I wanted it to be very special for him."

I smiled. "Of course we'll do that. We'll even put your names in the video if you want."

His grin nearly blinded me. "Thank you very much." Then he proceeded to jump out the basement window. "I need to get back to middle school, so bye." That was a surprise."

"How old are you?" I called, thinking he belonged in the fifth grade.

"14! I get that a lot."

I rushed out of there, realizing it's been over 15 minutes since I asked to go to the bathroom. I ran to my room, washed the dye out of my hair, replaced my jeans and ran to class. The bell rang as I entered the door. I saw my friends already packing up my computer and grabbing my stuff for me. I met their curious stares and answered with a slight shake of my head. This would have to wait.

Classes went by again without a hitch, nothing but the thought of the little boy and his dad keeping me awake. Unfortunately, they gave me a sort of glazed look that got me in trouble a couple times. But finally, it was Music, last period, and I was able to talk to Gumi again. We made it two feet into the door before the teacher started talking about the Vocaloids. I were glad we were the first of the class in there, because it took me a second to figure out he was talking in the third person about us, not the second.

By what he was saying, we, the Vocaloids, were one of the two favorites of the company, but our percussion was so much like a synthesizer that it was hard to believe that it wasn't one, and that was with the proof that we supplied in the video. The other favorite was ICE MOUNTAIN, but they weren't nearly as amazing as we were because they were adults and only had one lead singer. Our band had two people labeled lead, SF-A2 Miki and GUMI, but lead in Dream Fighter with GUMI, MEIKO, and SeeU. Those facts lead to some serious skill in singing. They had no idea what to make of us. To the teacher, the only word that could remotely describe us was _awe-inspiring_.

During all class period, the teacher had us watch the videos of the top five. Ours came first. The second, ICE MOUNTAIN, was just a slideshow with a recording in the background. The rest were hardly noteworthy, no pun intended.

He ended the class with the facts I already knew. The Vocaloids would have to supply another song with better proof that we didn't use a synthesizer, or else we would be disqualified. As soon as class ended, Gumi and I gathered in my dorm, waiting for the others to hear my news.


	6. Chapter 5

"What did Len want?" Meiko started off.

"He wanted to know if we could make the video special. It's his father's birthday tomorrow and he wants us to say happy birthday on the video."

"Why should we? Isn't it enough that we sing his song and not one of the other millions of options we have?"

Serena put an arm around Meiko's shoulders. "The real question is: why shouldn't we? He gave us the best song for our back-up audition."

I nod in approval. "He also gave us the means of proving we don't use a synthesizer." I ended that statement by opening up my entire arm. "His father, Dell Honne, is the one who designed and built this thing."

Kaito said, "Let's do it. I was always wondering about that man ever since I saw his name on your arm." My I really need to work on hiding my emotion, because he guessed I didn't know. "It's right here." He touched my right triceps, just below my shoulder. I lifted my arm up and looked in the mirror. I still could barely see it. "It's only a light engraving, but it's enough to be seen."

"Well, I already have an idea for how we should set it up." She whispered it to us. I smiled.

"That's perfect! Let's get started." So we transformed my room into a recording studio again, this time a bit faster. We all took turns changing in my bathroom for we all had left our costumes in my closet. We made record time hooking up the cameras to point at us. I took my place as Gumi picked up the third camera and hit play.

"Good evening, folks. I think you know who we are, but I'll tell you again. I'm GUMI, and this is KAITO, MEIKO, SF-A2 Miki, and SeeU." I waved my hand when she got to my name, as did the others. "We are the Vocaloids. Here is the usual tour of the room. As you can see no synthesizer behind me, in front of me, under me, …um, above me. Now over here is the bathroom and the closet, se no electronics in there. Except for the hair dryer, and I promise you, that won't show up in the song anywhere. Well, we'd better get started. This is a song that was e-mailed to us with a very special request and we would like to show our thanks to him by listening to him. Here it goes." She then hit pause and walked over to me. "Ready?"

"Yes." I then proceeded to open up each and every part of my mechanical limbs I could. Once my limbs resembled computer spaghetti, I turned around, held my arms like a T, and let my hands and head go limp. I looked like an android on a shelf, waiting to be turned on. Gumi held her camera very close to my right arm, close enough to see the engraving. The camera started rolling.

It took a while to do, and it took some digital editing, but it was good in the end. I played the video before we checked in for the night. It started with Gumi's introduction and tour of the dorm, but the music video was the most interesting part.

It started with the close up of my engraving. We had added some text around it saying 'Dedicated to:'. Gumi had shown some close ups of each of my limbs closing up, flicking to other clips between them. Some of these clips were still shots of my posture, some of them were dorky things like Kaito poking Serena's brooch with a black glove on, or Meiko's gloves, now fully painted. Last, but not least, was a close up of my belt turning on. This was the cover to the start of the song, which Kaito and Gumi were doing their best imitating an acoustic guitar and a pan flute respectively. When I started to sing, Kaito passed the guitar to Meiko and took up the congas.

hikari todokanai kono basho de  
boku wa nani wo utau no darou?  
hito no mane wo suru gangu demo  
kokoro wo motsu koto wa yurusareru?

I was dancing around, keeping my wrists and ankles stiff and not bending my torso at all. With my left arm and right leg still open, I was letting the percussive actions switch from side to side so that the viewers could see what was happening.

zero to ichi de tsukuraeta denshi no oto ga tsukuridasu  
boku no koe wa anata nimo todoite imasu ka?

kokoro motanu ningyou ayatsurareru ito ga  
boku no omoi wo subete karamase hikisaku (kowareteiku)

We were taking turns with the melody. Kaito was up next, with his low voice filling up the lyrics with more sorrow than I could muster. He joined me in the jerky movements. Even though his body and costume didn't specify anything mechanic, his shiny clothes and wig were convincing enough.

hito no mane wo shite utau hodo  
boku ni kokoro ga umareteiku noni  
sugata wo motenai kanashimi wa  
keshite iyasareru koto wa nai

chiisana hako ni tsumerare hiza wo kakaete toki wo matsu  
boku no sakebi anata ni wa kikoete imasu ka?

umidasareru uta kara omoi ga afureteiku  
douka kizuite hoshii sugata wa nakutemo (ikiteru yo)

Meiko took her turn singing the lead, flashing her gloves at the camera a bit too often. Kaito rejoined her a stanza later, harmonizing with her well and not missing a beat. I moved out of the way, letting them jerk along without me. A bit later, there was a space of music that had no voice in it. In that spot, we all took the camera and stood still. One by one, we all made small movements, like a twirl of the wrist or a flick of a finger. Then, when the lyrics started again, we all started moving fluidly. We were giving life to our robotic selves. Gumi took the second-to-last stanza.

hikari todokanai kono basho de  
boku wa nani wo utau no darou?  
hito no mane wo suru gangu demo  
kokoro wo motsu koto wa yurusareru?

My friends vacated the camera here, leaving me, shivering in the loneliness of the single spotlight (a flashlight Gumi was holding out of sight).

hito no mane wo shite utau hodo  
boku ni kokoro ga umareteiku kara  
sugata wo motenai boku dakedo  
anata no tame ni utaitsuzukeyou

I sang the last stanza with as much emotion as I could, drawing the patterns on my arms while shivering. The end of the song was accentuated by my arms opening back up, drawing me back to the T position. We blacked out the screen going to credits. There, we typed:

Happy Birthday, Dell

from the Vocaloids

Followed shortly by:

Percussion: SF-A2 Miki

Altos: SeeU, GUMI

Tenor: MEIKO

Bass: KAITO

Then:

**Guests**

Composers: Kagamine Rin and Len

That's how we ended the video. "What do you think?" said Gumi. "We incorporated the message into the video in a good way, and put the twins into the credits. Anything else?"

Meiko raised her hand. "Yes, question for Miki. Can I call that corner and the green towel."

I jumped in surprise. It was already 10:23. Past curfew. "Yeah, I guess you can." The we all burst out laughing, finding it funny that we could all have a sleepover from our ignorance of the time. We all took turns in the shower. I was the last one out, and it was slightly past midnight. I turned my computer back on and opened up my YouTube account. I located the video we had just spent hours making and uploaded it. Then, I logged on to my e-mail and sent Len a message.

Miki: The video is posted. Make as best a use for it as you can. It took us a while to make, but we don't mind. Anything for one of the best songs we've ever sang. Please don't tell anyone what school we attend. It's kind of a secret for now.

I hit send, and was about to shut it down, but a reply got my attention. I opened it.

Honne: Who are you, and why are you messaging me at midnight!

That one knocked the air out of me. I typed back.

Miki: I'm sorry. I thought this was Len's account.

Honne: How do you know my son?

_I so want this conversation over_. _It's awkward talking with _birthday boy_ when I'm his present_.

Miki: I was helping him with a surprise he was setting up. Please don't get upset at him or go researching my earlier comment.

Honne: How do I know to trust you? Is my son sneaking away from school to see you?

Miki: No, no he's not. Just trust me and trust him. The surprise is for you tomorrow. Just go to sleep and talk to your son when you wake up.

Honne: I won't be going toHold on.

I waited a bit, wondering what was happening. Then I got a call on Skype. I closed my e-mail and answered after putting in an earpiece.

"_Len, what are you doing?"_ an older voice said over the connection.

"_Talking to a friend. Hi, Miki!"_

"Hi."

"_What did I say about talking to strangers?"_

"_To not to, but-"_

"_But nothing. Go back to bed."_

"Honne-san, please, just ignore what I told you earlier. Len, the video is posted as of five minutes ago." _That had better fix this_. "Good night. And happy birthday." I shut of my laptop. _Jeez, that was tough_.

"What did he want?" said a voice behind me.

I whipped around and saw all four of my friends awake and watching me. I sighed. "Apparently Honne-san is nocturnal and Len was using his e-mail to contact us. Now let's go to sleep." I turned off the light. Good nights echoed from several points in the room, mine four times. I closed my eyes. My dreams were filled with thoughts of our birthday gift to Honne-san.


	7. Chapter 6

It was Thursday morning. I woke up to the sound of frying bacon. Kaito was cooking breakfast, for the whole band. _Where did he get bacon in this place_.

"Good morning! Breakfast is almost ready."

"What time is it?" asked Serena from the foot of the bed.

"5:30," Meiko called matter-of-factly from the bathroom.

"Is the food ready?" Gumi asked from the desk chair.

"Yes," said the cook.

I opened my eyes. Kaito was waving a spatula and wearing the ugly, pink, frilly apron my aunt sent me for my last birthday. Besides that, he was only wearing an undershirt and something that covered below his waist; I couldn't tell what it was from this side of the counter. Meiko was coming out of the bathroom wearing one of my least favorite robes, headed to the kitchen table. Yeah, we might as well call them hotel rooms instead of dorms. Serena was just sitting up from where she was curled up on my bed, from a very similar position of a cat. Gumi was still in her makeshift bed at my desk, but her eyes were open and she was licking her lips. I was how amazed how normal this felt.

I got up and went to the bathroom. The first thing I did was wash my face, and then I checked my schedule. I had a check-up with my prosthetic specialist today. That meant I could skip most of my classes, save first and last. Perfect. That lets me go to my favorite classes.

I met the others at the table. They had already served themselves, but were waiting for me. I sat down and started talking.

"I have an appointment with my doctor today, would anyone like to skip school and come?"

That surprised them. The word 'them' means everyone but Meiko, who said, "So that's what P.S. app meant. No thanks, but I'd rather take my finals today to get them over with." Sounds of agreement came from the rest of the table.

"Okay," I said, not willing to ignore the dripping pancakes in front of me any longer. It's been a while since I've had a proper breakfast; I always get up too late to cook, even if I had any skills with the stove. My pancakes were gone before you could say, "Dig in!" The others' meals as well. We were all asking for seconds, which Kaito was happy to supply. This round took a bit longer to digest, but it was nearly time to go to class when we were done.

"I'm going to go now, before I need to borrow your clothes for the day." Meiko then walked out of the room with my robe.

"I think we should all do the same." Kaito went to the bathroom. As I watched the door close, I realized he was only wearing his boxers. Again, I was shocked by how normal it felt. Gumi and Serena went out the door as well. I went to the closet, closed the door, and proceeded to change into a loose T-shirt and jeans. I put on a school sweater over the top. I left the closet in time to see the front door close. Kaito had finally left. I grabbed only my laptop, knowing I won't be attending any important classes, and followed.

Down the hall, out the door, across the parking lot, in the first building on the left, down the hall, hang a left, first door on the right, and here's my homeroom. The chatter was loud enough to get through the closed door, and when I opened the door, it was like jumping into cold water face first, except with the ears. It was as loud as the lunchroom in there. I walked in and no less than five people tried to get me into the days Crypton news. The Vocaloids had done it again, only this time, they were criticizing us for having actual androids in the band. Apparently, a lot of people thought it was cheating to use robotic limbs as instruments. But just as many liked the performance better than Dream Fighter because it specified the part of society that the band was representing. Crypton was shocked to find this out, but glad that it solidified where the band stood on the scale: Not cheating, but very resourceful.

Hiyama-sensei didn't even try to calm the class down, but he had more success than if he had. The teacher merely had to play the new video on the projector and everyone shut up. The video was of us singing Imitator, and it looked even better on a larger screen than on my laptop. When it was done, Hiyama-sensei stood in front of the class with a strange expression and said, "The Vocaloids didn't reveal their secret to earn your distaste and criticism, they did it to gain your trust, and possibly to make a point. Base your opinion of the musicians by how good their music is, not by what or who they are. Don't listen to other people to find your opinion, make your own." He sat back down and busied himself with his computer.

Nobody knew what to say anymore. We had never seen Hiyama-sensei upset before, and this is the closest he had ever come to yelling. Somehow, his lowered voice had been worse than yelling. The whole class didn't dare to make any noise louder than scattered whispers, until Hiyama-sensei hit the enter button with much vigor and left the room. At that point, the volume level rose past its previous level, loud enough to hide the dings that came from both my laptop and Serena's.

We opened them up. Mine had a message from an Hiyama-sensei on her band e-mail (I had removed the redirectories that had saved my account yesterday), but before I could open it, Serena squealed.

"What is it? What's the problem?" I asked.

"It's my brother, Piko," she said. "They found him and are taking him to the hospital."

"I can take you there if you want." She nodded, a little distant, and I helped her pack up her stuff. We left the room to find the teacher standing just outside the door.

"Oh, Furukawa. Where are you going?"

"The hospital," I said. "I have an appointment today. And someone found Serena's brother and took him to the hospital. She wants to go with me to visit him."

"Very well," he said. "I'll write an excuse for the two of you for your next few classes. Drive safely." He went back inside, and the volume went down as fast as it had gone up a few minutes before. I led Serena to my car in the parking lot and drove her to the hospital.

"Welcome to the Aiiku Hospital, how may I help you?" said the receptionist. "Oh, hi, Miki. What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Neru. I'm here for an appointment. I also brought my friend here. She just heard that her brother, Piko, was found and brought here." I turned to my friend. "I'll leave you here with Neru. She's a good friend and she'll take care of you. Okay." She nodded.

"I'm here, because my mom was needed for a sudden operation in the ER. But it should be okay; she only works on the toughest cases, and they always turn out for the better."

"Bye, Neru," I said, walking towards my usual room. She opened the door for me. I ran up the steps and took the first door to the right. There, I found both beds empty, but a nurse preparing the one closest to the door. She doubled her speed when she saw me and rushed to get the physician, which is what she normally does. I sat down on the bet to wait. Luckily, I didn't have to wait long.

"Hello, Furukawa-san," says the doctor as he always does.

"Good morning, Doctor-san," I say as I always do. Just like the Music teacher, he has an English name that I can never remember.

"Unfortunately, I don't have much time to check up on you; there is another patient with greater needs of my services in the ER right now. I even have to call in The Designer for this." That wasn't normal. He almost never needs Mr. The Designer for emergencies.

"What happened?" I ask.

My specialist looked a bit insecure. "Let me tell you a secret." He lowered his voice and I leaned closer. "The person that you share a room with," He gestured over to the empty bed. "Utatane-san, is in even worse condition than you are. Every time he checks in… Let's just say he always needs new parts.

I was confused. I haven't even seen this kid, but this Utatane guy is also a cyborg, but is he always breaking his arms or something? "Why? What's wrong with him?"

"We don't know. But we really want to find out, and if I don't get down there right away, we may not have time to." He turned to leave. "Don't be surprised if the nurse comes and draws the curtains." With that he left me alone for the next few hours. Serena came and went, talking about how unfair it was that they won't let her see the brother who had run away from home. I spent my time whirring my gears, figuring out new sounds I could use for other songs. Sometime during my wait, I realized that Mr. The Designer and Dell Honne were one in the same. Then, the nurse came and drew my curtains.

I longed to see what was going on, but I was forbidden from peeking. They said he was naked, but that didn't fool me; there were several women going in and out the door the entire time. About an hour later, the activity died down and only me, Utatane, and two men were left in the room. One of the men spoke.

"Will he be okay?" It was Doctor-san. "We've never done that large of an operation before. What if it doesn't take?"

"I don't know. This is a first for me as well." This voice was familiar, but I couldn't put a finger on it. "I've never had to use my blueprint for a mechanical heart before." My eyes widened. _It's Dell Honne._ "We can only hope for the best." I heard footsteps. "Now, if you will excuse me, I need to get back to my children." Before he left, I had a sudden idea. I started humming.

The men stopped in mid-step. Of course they weren't expecting me to hum. Neither of them knew I sang. It took him a second, but Dell sighed when he figured out what tune I was humming. When I reached a point, I started singing words.

hikari todokanai kono basho de  
boku wa nani wo utau no darou?  
hito no mane wo suru gangu demo  
kokoro wo motsu koto wa yurusareru?

They both waited until I finished the song. A few seconds passed before someone spoke.

"Miki?" Dell asked.

"Happy birthday, Honne-san," I reply weakly.


	8. Chapter 7

"Say hi to Len and Rin for me."

Dell just stood there for a minute, stunned that the famous girl from the internet who had wished him a happy birthday to millions was just feet from where he stood. He ultimately decided to leave it at that and continue to the waiting room where his kids were. The doctor came into my curtain.

"So _you're_ SF-A2 Miki." He had a smile creeping onto his face.

"Are you so sure? Maybe I'm just good at mimicking people."

"Oh," was all he said. We continued with the check-up, a couple hours late, with nearly no conversation at all. When I was finally done, Serena had come back.

"Hi, Miki. Um, Doctor-san? Can you tell-" The doctor left before she could complete her question. "Oh. Okay bye."

"What is it, Serena?"

"I was just looking for my brother. He left the ER a while ago, but no one wants to tell me where he went." She sighed. "By the way, about our next song. People have been messaging about wanting more mechanics." She held up her laptop, which had the band e-mail open on it. "Mostly people from our classroom, ironically enough. They both want us to show more of your mechanics and for you to take the lead."

"How are we going to do that?" I asked. Then, I heard whirring. Serena jumped in fright.

"I thought it was just the two of us!" I shushed her. "What is it?" she whispered.

"Morse code. The two of us taught ourselves how to do it when they closed the curtains for the night about 9 months ago." I slowly started to translate, for Serena's sake. _"… I … could… do … it… for… you_." I blinked, confused. "How? Wait, I've been talking to you for over 9 months, and I still don't know your name."

More whirring. "_My …name is… Utatane_-" Serena gasped.

"Piko!" She cried. I translated his whirring for her.

"_Yes_"

"Can I open the curtains?"

"_No_"

Serena sighed. "Why not?"

"_I'm… not ready… for… visitors_."

"Oh,"

"I didn't know you were Serena's brother," I interjected.

"_I didn't know you were SF-A2 Miki,_" he coded back, "_or my sister's friend, for that matter._"

"How are you doing?" I asked. "I heard them talking about a new heart." Serena gasped again. "Was that yours?"

"_Yes. It will take a bit for my body to get used to it, but I'll recover. Actually, it's me that will take a while to recover. I'm not used to having a heart that doesn't beat._"

I heard a thump. Serena had fainted. "One moment," I said to Piko. I got up from the bed and picked Serena off the ground. I situated her on my bed on top of the covers. Then I sat down in a guest chair and continued talking. The real reason for us learning Morse code was that my roommate usually couldn't talk for a while after every visit. The doctors always did something that wasn't injecting anesthetics to dull his senses. I think of something to ask.

"Are you really almost an android?" More whirring.

"Oh, that's kind of sad… Uh-huh… Yeah, that's what I was afraid of at first, too. But, when I revealed it to my friends, they were cool with it… Yes, that was after the initial shock. I had been hiding it the entire time I knew them, until Monday… No, I don't believe that. Meiko said herself that if she had known you, she wouldn't have done that… Yes, she did… Well, after I revealed myself as a cyborg, Serena was saying to herself how she should have known, due to habits you developed while getting used to…"

The conversation went on like that for a while. I decided that I was going to take a peek at what him.

"Is it okay if I see what you look like?" His hydraulic sounds came almost immediately. "Why not? ...Oh like I'm going to believe that! Nurses came in and out the whole time… what do you mean you're not comfortable with it? It's not like you- …You're asleep?" How could he talk to me if he was asleep? "Oh, you mean you're _trying_ to get to sleep? …What? … You're confusing me… Yeah I guess you're right. Will you explain it to me in the morning? ...Thanks. Good night." There was no point in driving home tonight; Serena was already asleep in my bed, so I couldn't drive her if I wanted to. I stole a pillow from my bed, put on my jacket, and settled myself down in a chair. That's how I stayed for most of the night.

About four am, the whine of a machine woke me. I stood up quickly, looking around for a few seconds, until I realized that the sound was coming from Piko. He seemed to be straining to do something.

"What are you doing?" I whispered to him. There were bound to be nurses around the halls, and if they knew I was awake, they'd kick me out. He stopped and spun some more gears at me. _Trying to wake up._ How the heck that worked, I didn't know. I whirred my arms in reply, similarly to how normal people clench their biceps.

_Is there any way I can help?_

His response came immediately. _Maybe. Try unplugging me._

_ What! You mean kill you? Take you off life support?_

_Of course not! I'm not on life support, just charging._ I should have seen that coming. I thought back to when Serena first told me about Piko. She had said he ran on electricity.

"Oh, okay. I'm coming in," I whispered, forgetting to use the code. I reach for the curtain, but he interrupts me.

_No. Before you open the curtains, don't look at me. Promise?_

"I promise." Then I opened the curtains slowly, careful not to look at the bed. Even then, I caught sight of a bare foot, sticking off the side of the bed. I walk around him, ignoring his constant reminders not to look, and found a generator. I wouldn't normally call it a generator, because it looked more like an extra-large converter, but it was just so darn huge. A wire led from it and plugged into the regular AC outlet in the wall. It also had a wire plugged into it, but this one ended in a huge USB-looking thing and led to where I guessed was Piko's lower back. I quickly pulled the USB out and let it drop. "You good?" I asked, my hair the only thing keeping me from seeing him get up. At least he was able to get up.

"Yeah, I'm good," he said, his voice surprising me. I realized I'd never heard him talk before. His voice was nice, smooth, but somewhat mechanical. "Wait. You're not a nurse."

I looked up, and we both gasped as one. I recognized him immediately, even though he had changed since then. He was the boy who I had last seen, nine months ago, in a different car. Our eyes had connected right before the crash, both full of fear, and there was no mistaking the silvery gleam in the iris and the shape of his eye. He apparently recognized me from the same incident, seeing whatever key features he remembered seeing on me. My mouth dried up quickly, words dying in my throat. There was nothing I could do but stare. After a few minutes, someone finally broke the silence.

"Miki?" Serena mumbled from my bed.

I rushed out of Piko's curtains, leaving him to change out of the paper apron and into the clothes he had hanging on the side of his bed, and went to my friend. She was stretching, visibly refreshed by her unplanned and unpaid for stay at the hospital. "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. How was your sleep?"

"Good. Wait, where am I?"

"At the hospital." She nearly freaked at that news. "No, you didn't get hurt. You just fainted last night after my check-up. I put you in my bed."

"Oo-oh," She said, the memory coming back to her slowly. "How's Piko? Is he okay?"

"I'm right here," His voice came from behind the curtains. He stepped out, fully dressed in a pair of faded black jeans and a white T-shirt that said 'I come with my own background music'. He looked like he had just woken up from a dream, a good dream by the look on his face.

"Piko!" yelled Serena, who jumped off the bed and onto Piko. He stumbled back a few steps before he could rebalance himself. His shock turned to pleasure as he hugged back, then to bitterness, which I assume came from not feeling her back with his bare hands. I put myself in his shoes, and knew he was remembering the crash.

"What were you dreaming about?" I asked him. He jumped a bit, as if someone had just pinched his butt.

"How did you know?"

"Your face told me. So, what was it about?"

He looked embarrassed. "You'd laugh."

"No, we wouldn't," Serena interjected. "Go ahead, tell us."

"Well," he started out, "I was dreaming that I was talking to a girl-"

"You are talking to a girl," I said with a smile. "Two of them." He almost snapped at me, but then saw the expression on my face and knew I was just giving him a hard time.

"You know of the Vocaloids?" He didn't wait for confirmation. "I was talking to SF-A2 Miki. I couldn't see her, well I never see anything in my dreams anymore, but I knew it was her. She was talking to SeeU about needing another band member, and I offered to join." Serena looked on the verge of interrupting, but was thinking better of it. "We started talking about my um… problem. She said something about a new-" He was interrupted by someone who was slowly opening the door.

It was Neru. She stuck her head in down by the doorknob, trying to avoid waking anybody, but jumped straight up when she found three pairs of eyes on her. Her head hit the doorknob.

"Hey, Neru," Piko and I said at the same time. We looked at each other.

"I didn't know you two were in the same room."

"That's because we have the same problem," I said. Piko stared at me, but before he could say anything to me, someone scolded Neru for waking the dead. Neru withdrew her head.

"I'm not waking anybody up. They're already up and about." She opened the door to a procession of nurses and doctors, who stumbled over each other to get to Piko's bed. It took them a moment to realize that their patient was already standing on the other side of the room, wondering why they were making such a fuss.

"I'm not sick or anything. I'm leaving now." He walked over to the door. As an afterthought, he added, "Serena, can you come with me? I'd love to get enrolled in whatever school you're going to now." He turned on his heel and walked away. Doctor-san emerged from the crowd, his mouth agape in surprise.

"He's never recovered that fast. Is he really okay? He had to get a replacem-" I cut him off.

"Yeah he's fine. He woke up and started talking to us. You have nothing to worry about." I leaned closer to him. "But I wouldn't use the words 'replacement' and 'heart' around his sister. She fainted last night and slept until this morning just by hearing those words." The doctor nodded, though his eyes showed that I had only brought up more questions.

"Bye," I said to him. Then, with Serena in tow, I followed Piko out into the hallway.


	9. Chapter 8

We caught up to Piko at the front door. He didn't see me coming, but one moment He was walking out the door, and the next I was half dragging him to my car. He didn't seem to notice until the sudden change of direction registered. After that, he shook himself free, but followed. Once in my car, we all started talking at once. Piko won.

"What was that you were saying about us having the same problem?"

"We do have the same problem, but you to a larger extent. I'm a cyborg, too." I clicked my elbow a couple of times to prove it. "My turn. What were you saying about your dream? I never caught the last bit."

Piko became shy again. "Well, Miki, SF-A2 Miki that is," he said, trying to specify that I was not me, "said that I got a replacement heart." Serena nearly fainted again in the back seat. "She asked to see me, but I told her I was… naked." He choked out the last bit, hesitant to mention nudity to someone he just met. He stumbled on, "She wouldn't take no for an answer, so I told her I was asleep. That seemed to stop her, and so we just talked more. After a while, she went away and I tried to follow her. Someone else asked if I needed help, and I said yes. It's weird how that happened and then I found you in the curtains with my plug in your hands."

"Yeah, what a coincidence," I said, pouring as much sarcasm into my words as I could, "I hate to break it to you, but…"

"I know. It was just a weird dream."

"Actually, it was real."

I took a moment to enjoy the shocked look he gave me before I started the engine. I drove towards the school, hoping to get there in time for class.

"That means…" He trailed off while he thought of all the things that it meant. I let him sit like that for a bit, and then I spoke up.

"You have new friends, a new school, and can become world famous by just asking?"

"True, but I was thinking more along the lines of 'I never actually sleep, know someone I just met really well, and she's about to change my life for the better'."

I laughed. "Also true."

Serena spoke for the first time since the hospital. "Is it true you have a mechanical heart?"

Piko's happiness was short-lived. "Let's see." He lifted his shirt and made a pattern on his bare chest, not unlike the ones I make on my arms and legs to open them up. I heard the clinking sounds of a metal shell folding back. Piko reached in and prodded something. 'Gross' was the first thing that came to mind.

"Yep, it's fake," Piko said, closing himself back up.

"It's not a fake," I said to him, "If it was, you'd be dead. It's artificial, and made just for you."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it," Piko pointed out.

"Oh, I never said that," I replied, pulling into the school parking lot. "Here we are."

I led Piko into the school. He was already getting jumpy, as if it wasn't a school, but a prison. I walked him to Kaito's room.

"Who's in here?" He asked. "Certainly not the principal."

"No, just a friend. And one that can lend you a long-sleeved jacket to hide your arms." He brightened up a bit while I knocked. Kaito opened the door, eyes bleary and hair sticking up at odd angles.

"It's five o'clock in the morning, can't it wait- Oh, hi Miki, Serena. Where have you been?" He looked behind her. "Who're you.

"Kaito, this is Piko, and we were wondering if he could borrow a jacket for the day."

"Sure." Kaito backed into his room, emerging a few minutes later with three jackets, one black with a blue design on it, one light blue, and one gray. "Which would you prefer?"

"This one, please." Piko took the gray jacket and pulled it over his head. With a little help from Serena, he got it on without tearing it. I said thanks to Kaito, and we were on our way to my dorm. Serena looked at the time and said goodbye to us, racing down a side hallway in the direction of her room. Piko asked me then, "Did Kaito even notice who I was?"

"No, he didn't. He doesn't really notice much on his own in the mornings unless you notice it for him. I'm surprised he wakes up to his own alarm in the morning. He'll figure it out by second period." I walked into my dorm and Piko followed. "If you will excuse me, I need to change into clean clothes. He politely sat down in my desk chair while I went to my closet, grabbed a clean outfit, and changed in the bathroom. We then went to my home room when the bell rang a couple moments later. I found the class in its usual state of chaos. Hiyama-sensei noticed I wanted something immediately and walked over.

"Good morning, Furukawa. What do you need?"

"One of my friends, Piko, would like to like to enroll for a dorm for the summer and school next year and would like me to go with. May I?"

"Um, can't she just wait until the end of the day and follow you through your classes until then?"

I laughed. I should have expected that, the ending _-ko_ being most common in girl names"To the classes' part, that's a good idea, but _He_ is standing right outside the door and _He_ would like _His_ own room as soon as possible." I watched him blush as some of the class echoed my laughter.

"Sure, you may go. But be back before the bell rings."

"Sure thing." I walked out of the classroom and led Piko to the offices. It took longer than it does in any movie I've seen before, but we finished by the end of the period. He was assigned to the same Math and Music classes that I had, as well as homeroom. We walked back to class together, Piko following me all the way to the corner of the room.

"Guys, this is Piko." They all said hi. Meiko stood up and held out her hand.

"Pleasure to finally meet you, Piko." Piko hesitated slightly before taking her hand. "Why are you so much colder than Miki?" she whispered, though everyone in the group heard it. They looked surprised enough. They probably had forgotten about what Serena had said about her brother.

"Piko, this is Meiko, Kaito, and Gumi." They raised their hands and waved when their names were called. I leaned close to Piko's ear. "Don't look now and don't say anything aloud, but you're looking at the Vocaloids." That surprised him. He almost said something, but my computer pinged and interrupted him.

I opened up my e-mail. Hiyama-sensei's message from yesterday was still unread, but now there was one from a man named Kiyoteru. I opened my teacher's one first.

'Greetings from high school. My name is Hiyama and I just want to say how much I love your band. I cannot begin to describe my affections for your skill and artful feeling, but I can describe my frustrations. It starts with a class full of students arguing about whether it was fair that your lead singer/percussionist, SF-A2 Miki, is an android/cyborg, and it ends with me telling them off and storming out of the room. I feel guilty for doing this to them, but they deserve it for talking about you guys in that way. Besides, Miki could say the same thing about us being able to snap our fingers or crack our knuckles. I would love to ask to meet you, but I know that you wouldn't want to. I can't wait until your next video, unless it's a live performance, then I look forward to seeing you in person.

-Hiyama'

I just sat there for a second, with no doubt that everyone else was sitting behind me feeling the same surprise I did. Well, except Meiko. She reached over me and opened up Kiyoteru's.

'Greetings Vocaloids. If you don't know yet, Crypton has decided that you are eligible to continue participating in the tournament. Good job. No matter how the competition ends, I want you to know that I consider you to be a band like no other. Anyone can sing, but only few can sing properly, with feelings, emotions, and communication. I wish you to know that Crypton has told 24 of the top 25 bands to ready a song for tonight. They want a live performance. I don't think you, being the 25th, know yet, so that's why I'm telling you. I also am the composer for my band, and I wrote a few songs. This is my favorite, but we can't pull it off. I would like you to bring it to life, if possible. You have my permission to use it tonight. In exchange, I would like to meet one or all of you. Can you meet me at the bar down the street from the high school in Tokyo? I would much like to see the stars of the Internet.

Good luck tonight, and may the best band win,

Kiyoteru, lead singer of ICE MOUNTAIN'

I opened up the attached document. It was just as amazing as Imitator, the song Len and Rin wrote for us, and just as meaningful. It was perfect. There was nothing wrong with it. I started typing, already knowing everyone's opinion before Meiko started whispering in my ear, but I hesitated before hitting send. I almost sent it to the wrong e-mail. I switched it to Kiyoteru's address and hit send. I was about to close my laptop, but I stopped when I heard a ping from Hiyama-sensei's computer.

I watched my teacher's eyes as he opened up his new mail and read whatever it was he was reading. I had to swat Serena's hand away from my keyboard twice. But I knew something significant was about to happen.

I heard my teacher gasp, then heard frantic typing coming from behind his computer. He hit the return key with a flourish and proceeded to stare at the screen like he couldn't wait for it to do something. I muted my volume for some reason, I don't know why. I saw my computer ping from an incoming message. It read:

'Great! Thank you! Does 12:30 sound reasonable to you? It's convenient for me because it's down the road from where I live and I hope it isn't inconvenient for you. I will be there with my band right after the performance, because that's where we always go after a gig.'

I stared for a second. I don't know what possessed me to do it, but I typed a quick, cheeky comment in and shut my computer lid, keeping my hand on the mouse pad. I turned to Meiko and started talking about our English final, mostly talking in English. The others were confused by what I was doing, but Meiko, being …well Meiko, understood. She talked with me for about the final, then she switched to the Spanish one that only she was taking.

I don't know much Spanish myself, not to mention why _she_ wanted to take it, but I do recognize some of the numbers. In the middle of some of her sentences, she was interjecting a single number. _Cinco_ was the first one, then _Cuatro_, followed closely by _Tres_, _Dos_, and _Uno_. She then said the word '_¡__Va!_' and switched back to plain Japanese. I hit clicked the button once and closed the computer. Hiyama-sensei's computer didn't beep at all, though what it did was more surprising. I saw some lights flash and heard voices coming from his computer. The words 'GAME OVER' came to mind for some reason. I scolded myself for thinking it was possible.

The words I had typed were: _We'll be there, Hiyama Kiyoteru_.


	10. Chapter 9

The rest of the day flew by. I don't think I fell asleep during my finals this time, but if I did, I didn't care. All I know is that our run through of the song Kiyoteru sent us went really well. Almost in no time at all, we had our costumes on under baggy jackets (Save Kaito, who already had a jacket) and were standing outside the auditorium of the school. It was 5:47.

"I still don't get why the concert had to be _here_," said Kaito for the fifth time that night. "Why couldn't it have been down the street at a _public_ concert hall?"

"Because," said Serena, also for the fifth time, "Our Music teacher is hosting it. Besides, there's nothing to worry about. The song is awesome, we're world famous, and somehow, no one recognizes us, which is still funny to me because it only takes a little more make-up to do that."

"And a lot of oil," Gumi added. I had a quick flashback of us rubbing so much of that, for lack of a better word, _goop_ onto our faces to make us look shiny and metallic for Imitator. I shivered.

"We'd better get backstage." We went around to the side entrance where the school drama department was already carrying microphones and other concert stuff in. They didn't give most of us a second glance with the exception of Kaito. He was the only one without his costume covered up. We walked over to where some of the other bands were. As it turned out, they were all around the judges. As we got closer, I could see the crowns of two heads, one pink and one teal. Miku and Luka were some of the judges. There was also three other people: our Music teacher and two guys that I assume were from Crypton. Professor-san was announcing something.

"-each song will only last about six minutes. Then, the next band has four minutes to get their equipment onto the stage. Any questions?"

I turned around quickly to Meiko. "How long is our song?"

"4:56 exactly," she said. That's good. I raise my hand.

"Yes?" asked Luka, for Professor-san was looking the other way.

"Yeah, we have a person we want to add to our band. Is that against the rules?"

The entire crowd turned towards the sound of my voice. I lowered my hood to show them who had asked, and Piko waved his hand. Miku smiled.

"No, it isn't against the rules, as long as we don't think you're customizing your band with each song you sing." That was the news we all wanted to hear.

"Good," I said, taking off my jacket, the others behind me doing the same. "Now when do we sing?"

That caused some of them to laugh. Even one of the judges started chuckling before Luka threatened to slap him. She turned back to us. "You're opening the show."

"Okay, but wouldn't you want to save the best for last?" Kaito had a sort of wild expression on his face, as if he hiding his nerves behind his sharp words. Some of their competition made comments like 'This kid's got spunk' and 'ooh, I'm scared now'. Apparently, almost all of them were idiots. I've seen some of their videos, and none of them came even close to the number of views ICE MOUNTAIN's did, or ours, for that matter. Luka just shrugged it off as no more than a regular question.

"I didn't make the schedule, and I think the guys who did," she glared at the two Crypton judges, "thought that teenagers had bedtimes. They lumped all the younger groups to the beginning."

"Oh," I said. The guys were looking a bit uncomfortable. "If that were true, I don't think the concert would be being held a senior high school." Miku suppressed a laugh.

"My point's exactly. They also overlooked the fact that I'm only a teenager and I don't have a bedtime."

A few more people joined in laughing at the foolishness of the judges, but stopped when some guy with a megaphone came in saying "10 minutes". We all rushed to get ready, throwing our jackets at the nearest drama student. Piko allowed us to disassemble his frame before laying down on a hand truck with his generator. He spread his arms wide, in that T pose that I used during Imitator. We all stood in our positions, with my arms opened.

As the curtain opened, Kaito walked towards me. He pretended to push my arm into place and I started rolling that shoulder. This made these rolling synthesizer sounds that couldn't be made by a real synthesizer. Weird, right? He continued to do those kind of things to my body, at the different entrances of mine, including tweaking my neck when I started speaking. When he was done is when the actual lyrics started.

Hajime to owari no iranai imi  
Kono kokoro no jouhatsu eto  
Dare ga hinsei wo oboeteru ka?  
Kyouki no mado kara sayonara

Konnichiwa watashi  
Awanakatta darou?  
Sayounara anata  
Saa hanashi shiyou ka?

We hadn't really started dancing yet, but at this point, we sort of go wild with the movements. I danced around continuously (duh, I need to for the percussion) while everyone else jerked into a new position every four beats.

iNSaNiTY, Fusou shisou desu  
PSYCHoPaTHY, Nonki na jinsei  
iNSaNiTY, Owarenai madoi  
CaPTiViTY, Nigerarenai

iNSaNiTY, Fusou shisou desu  
PSYCHoPaTHY, Nonki na jinsei  
iNSaNiTY, Owarenai madoi  
CaPTiViTY, Odaku ga tsudzuke sou

Nothing really spectacular happens during the next round of lyrics, that is, until the chorus. The drama teacher, who I never really liked until now, let loose with the fog machine as soon as I start the word 'iNSaNiTY'. The crowd gasps when I add in some small, unnecessary movements to make the fog envelop my entire body. After the chorus, we all gather at center stage and stand Piko up. He had been plugged in, so he couldn't move at all on his own. The entire front of his surface was taken off, so all our audience could see was the wires, gears, and hydraulics that made up his insides. As predicted, they started to mumble about what the heck we were doing.

Kaito stood by Piko, Gumi and I were to their left, and Meiko and Serena were on the right. Kaito started singing, and we played fire brigade and passed the metal bits of Piko to each other from off-stage. During each line of his first stanza, Kaito played the technician and started assembling Piko's appendages with the four of us beat-boxing like crazy.

Ne! doko de atta koto ga nai ka?  
Ne! itoshii kimi to hanashitai  
Ne! jikan wa? Kyou wa? Wakaranai  
Ne! Wasurete shimaeba yokatta

Kaito started on Piko's belly and chest.

iNSaNiTY, Fusou shisou da  
PSYCHoPaTHY, Nonki na jinsei  
iNSaNiTY, Yami ka? Hikari ka?  
iNSaNiTY  
iNSaNiTY

During the last two words, Kaito clips on Piko's shoulders and slides his face on like a helmet. Before the crowd had time to gasp, we all dove to the floor and covered our heads, and Kaito unplugged Piko from his generator. Serena made a power-down sound.

Nothing happened while the crowed muttered about the boy that now stood in front of them. They eventually quieted down as they realized that nothing was happening on stage. With all eyes on him, Piko drew a ragged breath, making the same sound Serena did, but in reverse. Then he started with the shoulder rolls, just like I did at the beginning of the song. The crowd was stunned into silence.

I knew without opening my eyes that there was a single spotlight on Piko. I also knew that the audience didn't need it to know that he was the most amazing thing onstage. With that, I crawled to the side and ran up to the top of the auditorium. Just in time, Piko stopped the music, and at the same time lifted his head to look at me and dropped his arms. I started singing to Gumi's church bell sounds.

sAnIty, Mou mienai kuro  
pUrIty, Motto nagai hibi  
sAnIty, Sore mo shizumanakya  
sAnIty, ...tte nani desu ka?

Back at the chorus, I ran back down the center of the room to applause, Piko in control of the percussive sounds and bops. I jumped up on stage and joined my friends for the final stanza. Another surprise from the drama teacher, the strobe lights turned on, in addition to the remaining fog.

iNSaNiTY, Fusou shisou desu  
PSYCHoPaTHY, Nonki na jinsei  
iNSaNiTY, Owarenai madoi  
CaPTiViTY, Nigerarenai

iNSaNiTY, Fusou shisou desu  
PSYCHoPaTHY, Nonki na jinsei  
iNSaNiTY, Owarenai madoi  
CaPTiViTY, Odaku ga tsudzukeru

On the last note, Serena made that power-down sound again, and we all bowed, freezing at the bottom as if we _had_ shut off. The crowd cheered us as we stood up and laughed. Before the cheers die down, I turned to stage right, raised my hand, and said, "Give a hand for Yowane Haku, the school's drama teacher." Some of the students had to push the teacher on stage to get her out of her shocked state. She had to blink a few times before she took her cue and waved at the audience.

We exited the stage on her side, making sure to bring the hand truck and generator with us. We all came back out to help the next band with their equipment. When that was done, we patted each other on the back. I was surprised when Yowane-san came up to us and asked us _the_ question.

"How did you know my name?"

While I was confused, Meiko didn't miss a beat. "We looked it up on the school website. After all, we would want to know the names of those willing to lend us their stage and intuition." That's Meiko, always two steps ahead of everyone else.

Yowane-san smiled and congratulated us. That was enough to convince her, and she walked away to oversee the next performance. I said, "I say we get something to drink and then join the audience." They agreed. We went to the poor boy we threw our jackets at and thanked him for his assistance. He didn't seem to mind. We went to the nearest drinking fountain, quenched our thirsts, and sat down in the front row, waiting for the next band t start its song.


	11. Chapter 10

It was nearly midnight. I was slouching in my seat low enough where I could barely see the heads of the performers. Why did the other bands have to be so …dull? Some had instruments, some didn't, but none of them were particularly exciting, and only some of them were good, skill-wise. Only a few put emotion into their songs, but those put in the _wrong_ one. Luckily, none of them were ICE MOUNTAIN.

"When is ICE MOUNTAIN going to play?" I whispered to Gumi past the caterwauling of a particularly flat adult singer.

"I think their next," She yawned back from under her program.

I looked around. The place was not nearly as full as it was at the start. Now, the top third of the seats were vacated. I can't blame them. I was only going through all this to hear ICE MOUNTAIN.

Finally, the guys on stage finished and walked off stage. A group of five people walked on stage. They brought with them the usual tools of engagement for a band their size: a guitar, a bass, a keyboard, a drum kit, and a microphone. One was in a suit, another was in a white shirt that was unbuttoned at the front, and the other three were in what some people would call 'rocker attire'. They stood in their positions, waiting for permission to start, and it was when the lead singer opened his mouth when I realized something. The man standing in front of the band was my _math teacher_. I think Meiko and I were the only ones who recognized him behind all the make-up.

Hiyama Kiyoteru.

They sang a song that I believe they called 'Haijitsu' and it rocked. I mean, to the extent where you couldn't see the front rows of chairs. There might as well have not been chairs, because almost everyone was climbing up, trying to get the attention of whichever band member they thought was hot. It lasted only four minutes, but I nearly got kicked in the head twice. When it was over, the cries of the crowd became deafening. People were throwing things at the stage like nobody's business. Some woman shot her thong at the pianist, and Kiyoteru had to bodily push him back. The guy was yelling, "This is a high school! You don't do that here!" The security found the lady who did that and took her to the office.

I grabbed Kaito's arm. "Let's get down to that bar. We don't want to be the last ones there." We snuck out from under the mosh pit and ran to the parking lot. I drove us down the street to the rendezvous point and parked. The place Kiyoteru was talking about turned out to be an _izakaya_, a kind of bar and grill. I walked in and ordered a table for 11. That's when I happily found out that Hiyama-san had already reserved a table for us. We sat down and waited. I watched the same van pass around about 15 times before parking. ICE MOUNTAIN piled out and walked in, messing with each other, hyper from their performance. The lead singer came up to the table and greeted us.

"Hello. I'm glad you could make it. This is Akito, Natsuki, Tohma, and Haruto." They waved from behind him and went straight to the bar. Kiyoteru didn't even turn around. "They didn't exactly agree with meeting you in person, so I'll be the only one sitting with you." He sat down next to me in the corner booth. It was the round one that can barely hold eight people, so we were sitting very close to each other. "I didn't expect you to add another member to your gang."

"It's all right," I said, "As you may know, I'm SF-A2 Miki, and these are GUMI, MEIKO, KAITO, SeeU, and PIKO." The all greeted our teacher when their name was called. "So here we are. And thank you for that brilliant song."

"It's all right. My band didn't like it at all, so I was glad it was sung at all." He looked a bit uneasy as he asked this next question. "How is it like, being androids and all?"

We laughed, which didn't help our hosts mood. Gumi was the first one to stop.

"None of us are really androids. MIKI and PIKO are, however, cyborgs."

"Oh," Kiyoteru said. "Well how can that be? We all saw your insides, Piko, so how can you still be considered part human? No offence."

"None taken," Piko said immediately, though he was looking a bit more sour than before. "My brain is still flesh, so I can't be considered a robot. Do you want me to prove it?"

"No, no, I'm good." I guess the expression on the adult's grossed out face helped lighten Piko's mood. "Well, I love your singing style, and I'm curious as to how you work so well together."

"I'm not sure on that either," Serena said. We all agreed. "We only formed this group for the competition. So since Monday."

Conversation went on like that for a while, sometimes us asking questions, and sometimes him asking, but both sort of evaded the questions about our personal lives. The food came, delivered by a woman Kiyoteru claimed as his cousin. We soon got on the subject of favorite foods when a beep came from both my pocket and Kiyoteru's. We pulled out our phones as one and read the same message. I turned to my band.

"We passed this round with flying colors." Cheers came from my friends at that news. "But we need to pick one of these songs for our performance this Monday." I put my smart phone down in the middle of the table so everyone could see. They were all songs that were composed and sung by Crypton singers. Miku, Luka, Lily, and other, less famous ones were in the list. There were a bunch of songs we could choose. "How are we going to narrow it down?"

We discussed that topic for a while, but Kiyoteru had to go.

"I make it a point to be home before four o'clock in the morning." He buttoned up a suit jacket that he had brought with him and Bam! Kiyoteru transformed into Hiyama-sensei with a blink of the eye. "Good night." He turned and walked out the door. For a second, he looked confused, but then chose to walk home. Apparently, his friends had left without him.

"Should we tell him?" Meiko asked. Because it was Meiko, I knew exactly what she meant.

"Not yet. We can keep him a secret as well until then." Nods from everyone, okay.

We went out the back way to avoid Kiyoteru seeing us. We walked into the alley on some guys manhandling someone into a van. _ICE MOUNTAIN's van_! I ducked to the side and my friends got the message. It was the other four guys of ICE MOUNTAIN, pushing a bound and gagged woman into the back of the van. Our waitress was struggling, but to no avail. They got her inside before she could yell for help.

"Let's drive!" yelled Natsuki. He jumped into the drivers' seat and took off with the other three in the back. I caught the glint of a knife in Akito's hand before the door slammed shut. I turned around to notify the bartender what had happened, but Meiko was already there with Piko.

"I swear, four guys just jumped your waitress and took off in their van!"

The bartender jumped in surprise, then dashed for the phone. He dialed 911 and handed the phone to Meiko. When they picked up, she explained everything to them, including the names of the guys, the paint job of the van, and the license plate number. She was told to stay there, so we all stayed.

"Thank you for telling me so quickly," said the bartender. "Most of the people here at this time of night don't say a word about this kind of thing until the following morning."

"No problem," Gumi said.

"You're the Vocaloids, right?"

"Why, yes," said Kaito very sarcastically, "What was your first clue?"

"The attitude," The man said in kind. "My name is Kamui Gakupo. You won't have heard of me, but I have heard of you. I worked at a daycare service during the day, and all the kids find you more entertaining than the man that was paid to keep them occupied."

I was shocked. "Oh, sorry for your loss."

"Don't be. It wasn't as if it was your goal to get me fired by becoming famous. Only one of the kids, Ryuto, played with me after you sang Imitator, but that was only to gossip."

"Why do you work here, instead of another daycare if you liked the kids so much?"

Gakupo gave a hearty laugh. "Well, you could say it has its perks." Without looking, he reached behind him for the ornamental pair of crossed katana hung on the wall. He grabbed the hilt of one and spun around. In an instant, the tip of the very real katana was pointing the throat of a man who was trying to steal a bottle of sake behind his back. "Drop it," Gakupo said in a voice that contained both the threat and the ability to slice the thief down if he didn't do as commanded. The man dropped the bottle into Gakupo's hand. Gakupo proceeded to replace the sword back into the sheath in the same spinning manner that he withdrew it with and put the bottle back.

"You have to be blunt with drunks to get them to listen." Kaito was the only one who laughed with Gakupo this time.

"You'll have to teach me sometime," Kaito said. The police came and went, asking questions of Meiko and the rest of us. We backed up Meiko's story, all of us leaving out the conversation with Gakupo and saying Kiyoteru had no part in this whatsoever, which he didn't. They left in pursuit of ICE MOUNTAIN, and we shortly left as well.

I drove back to the school, where we all parted ways. I was walking down the hallway when I heard some humming. That's weird. I backtrack to a door that was open a crack. It was Hiyama-sensei! He was humming beat to iNSaNiTY. I back away from the door, not wanting to make a sound. I run back to my dorm and slam the door. That was close.

I checked my e-mail before I went to bed. It had a message from Kiyoteru. I opened it up.

'Dear SF-A2 Miki,

I am glad that you came to see me that late this morning. I enjoyed myself and hope you did the same. Is it possible we could meet again some time? Maybe on Monday after our next performance, in celebration that we both made it to the next round? Please e-mail me in response.

If this is the last night we get together back stage, I want you to know that yours was the best performance out of all of them. You even outshined me and my band.

Good night,

Hiyama Kiyoteru'

I stared at the screen, appalled. Did he think we were dating? The thought of dating my math teacher is just _gross_. He's a nice guy and all, but _please_. I typed back.

'To Kiyoteru.

I am only 17 years old. Sorry. I would love to have dinner after the concert, but it's not a date. If that was your intent, I apologize for being frank with you. That's not the only bad news you will get from me tonight.

I think you should be the first to know. After you left, I went out the back exit and saw the other four guys in your group shoving our server into the back of your van. She was bound and gagged. Meiko called the police with the bar's phone and they are on your buddies' tails. I'm just trying to warn you of what may happen in the future.

SF-A2 Miki'

I hit send and went to the bathroom to take a shower. 15 minutes later, I'm standing in my bath robe in front of my computer. He had e-mailed me back with a curt 'Thank you'. I shut it off and laid down to get a good night's sleep.


	12. Chapter 11

It was Saturday. There was nothing to do for school, since the last day was yesterday. For some reason, our school holds off sending everybody home until after senior graduation on Tuesday.

So I went straight to my homeroom to see if Hiyama-sensei was still there. He was. He seemed to be staring at his computer with his hands crossed in front of his face, sometimes moving to wiggle the mouse and keep the computer from going to sleep. I walked in.

"Good morning, Hiyama-sensei," I say in a cheerful, but respectful manner. "How are you doing today?"

"Hello, Furukawa," He said with that mild expression adults wear when they're trying hard not to let their emotions affect the people around them. He was trying hard not to let me see his distress. "I'm not doing so well today. I was told last night that one of my close cousins was kidnapped."

"Who told you?" I ask, though I knew it was me.

"By SF-A2 Miki. We met at a local bar and grill at my request after the concert last night. A few minutes after I left, apparently, some…" He choked up at this part. "…_guys_, took the server, my cousin, and shoved her into the back of …_their_ van and drove off with her. I'm still hopeful that this isn't true, that Miki may have been mistaken, so I'm watching the news to see what shows up. I-" he cuts off then, probably because of some breaking news. I walked up behind him. The newscaster had mug-shots of the other four members of ICE MOUNTAIN and was speaking.

'…4 AM today, the police received a call from Kyo Honoka saying there had been a kidnapping in the alley behind the building. When police arrived, the accused had already driven off, but the witnesses, the members of the now popular Vocaloid, were helpful and told them everything they needed to know. At 10 o'clock, the police pulled over the van the kidnappers had supposedly taken and found nobody but these four men inside. They are currently in prison for suspected kidnapping and will be charged with such if the woman is found. No other significant evidence has been found so far."

Hiyama leaned back and sighed. He looked even worse than he had before, as if his fears had come true. "I'm afraid she was right. My cousin was kidnapped."

"What's her name?"

"Annabeth. She was named in the Western style because she was born in the U.S. and everyone called her Sweet Ann."

"I'm sorry for your loss," I said, about ready to leave. "I don't want to impose…"

Hiyama looked at me. I think he saw a bit more into how I felt than I really feel comfortable with, because he gave me a sort of knowing smile, as if he had been where I was before. "Go ahead and go," he said. "It's all right. Leaving now won't upset me."

"Good bye," I said, already halfway to the door. I paused and turned around. Apparently, he saw his slip at the same time I did.

"Can you-"

"Yes, I can keep your secret," I said, closing the door so that nobody could hear what I said.

He smiled again. "Bye, Furukawa."

"Bye." I walked down to Gumi's dorm and found someone there already. Luka.

"Hello, Luka," I said brightly.

"Hi. You're Furukawa Miki, right?"

"Yes. Is Gumi here?" It would be strange if she wasn't.

"I was about to knock just now." She turned back to the door and did. "I had to escape the paparazzi to get here. Being famous is hard work." The pink-haired woman looked exhausted, so I had no trouble believing her.

A 'Hello?' came from just inside the door. "Gumi?" said Luka, "It's me." The door flew open, revealing Gumi, blonde-haired, in her bath robe. She gestured for us to come in.

"Sorry, I was just about to get in the shower."

"It's all right. I only came this early to avoid the crowd that builds outside my door at 10 every day. I swear, I think they camp on my doorstep."

"I think you shouldn't have told the public your real name," I said. "That way, you could have kept your identity secret."

That earned a laugh from Gumi's sister. "No, I don't think so. I remember, before I was famous, searching the Internet for how certain stars were doing. I feel it now, wondering who the Vocaloids are." Oh, the irony. "Crypton should have put names and addresses on the sign-up requirements."

I shot a meaningful look at Gumi, who is about to get in the shower. She shook her head. Darn.

"Well," I said, "I'm sure you'll find out soon enough who they are. In the meantime, what do you think about them?"

Luka wore a wistful expression when she spoke. "I think they're the best group in the performance. ICE MOUNTAIN's good as well, but Crypton's looking for singers. They haven't said it, but they are favoring the a cappella bands more than the ones with instruments. And of course, they love SF-A2 Miki, because of her skill, her spontaneity, and, of course, her cybernetic parts. She and PIKO can play percussion without a kit."

I tried to hide my frustration. "Is that why you like her? For her parts?"

Luka noticed her mistake. "Oh, no. That's not why I like her. I like her musicianship in general. Using her arms and legs as she does shows a lot of courage and resourcefulness. I'm proud of her of revealing herself like that. Most people would have tried to hide their prosthetics, thinking of them as sad reminders of whatever got them."

Whew, close call. "What dong do you think they're going to sing next Monday? Did you notice that most of what they sing applies loosely to the cyborgs who hide their … well, themselves?"

I surprised Luka with that one. "No, I didn't notice that. Anyway, I'm kind of hoping for them to sing one of my songs, of course, but almost any of them would do well, like Love is War or Electric Angel. That one would be good with PIKO's percussion. I just want them to have a good performance, as always."

The conversation went on like that for a while, Gumi joining in the middle of it. It became obvious that Luka had no idea that we were the very band she was talking about, even though the names Gumi and GUMI appeared in the same sentence, along with Miki and SF-A2 Miki. I was tempted to just click my arm a couple of times, just to see what Luka's reaction would be. But, being the good friend I am, I withheld the secret from Gumi's sister. Somewhere around 2:30, Luka dismissed herself to go to the bathroom. At that point, Gumi turned to me to say something, but the phone rang before she could utter a word. She picked it up.

"Hello? … Oh, hi Meiko. What's up? … You want to practice today?" At this point, she lowers her voice. "Sorry, I can't. Luka came over, and we've been lucky enough to keep the secret from her for the hours she's been here so far … Sorry, I don't really want to tell her yet. I want it to be a surprise … No, I don't -… What? Slow down, I can't- … Better … No, I won't, and that's final." She hung up with a flourish and slouched back down on the small couch next to me. "You didn't tell her, right?"

"No, I didn't," I said to her. "I wanted to, but no." A scream came from the bathroom. I made haste to get up, but the door was open before I could. Luka was there holding a pair of orange goggles and a box of temporary green hair dye. Wait, those are Gumi's!

"You're Vocaloid, aren't you?" she said in two panting breaths, eyes wide with shock. The skirt of Gumi's concert dress was peeking from the back of the bathroom door behind her.

Gumi didn't say anything at first, still surprised from Luka's sudden discovery. After recovering, she walked over to the phone and called Meiko back.

"…Meiko, it's me- … Not really. The changing circumstances did it for me… Yes, bring everybody… bye." Gumi hang up and looked at Luka. "To your question,-" I cut her off.

"No, we are not Vocaloid. We're just a bunch of chronic cosplayers who see fit to make costumes that match the Vocaloids exactly and change our voices to sing just like them as well."

"Miki! You don't have to be so rude about it."

"You are?" Luka asked again in disbelief. Gumi turned to her, hesitating a bit before answering.

"Yes. Yes we are."

Luka blinked a few times as she tried to digest what that meant to her. I knew when she had succeeded when her eyes came back into focus. She swallowed slowly, as if she was eating something tough and hard to chew. It was then that she spoke. "I need some air." She walked outside.

"That was not what I expected," I said. "Her reaction, I mean."

"In her defense, it wasn't what she expected either. And I think she's handling it well." Gumi leaned back, a bit tired from what had just happened. "Normally when I tell her something that I tried to keep secret, she starts crying about how she knew it all along and what her opinion is on the subject."

"It looks like she choked on this one."

A loud knock came from the door. "May we come in?" came Meiko's voice. Gumi sighed.

"Yes, you may as well."

Meiko, Kaito, Piko, and Serena came through the door, in their street clothes. They had their costumes and cameras in tow, in or under various bags of course.

"What happened to your sister, Gumi?" Serena asked, looking around the dorm.

"Went to take a breather," I responded for Gumi, for she didn't look keen to answer. "She just discovered, and she didn't expect it." Looks of comprehension spread around the room. They continued to the couch and threw their stuff onto it. They sat down around it, readying themselves to talk for a while. I stopped them.

"We might as well get started practicing. We can start with our favorites, and then move on to the ones that we think might sound good." I waited for some nods of ascension before continuing. "Luka already knows, so if she walks in while we're singing, don't stop on her account, okay?"

We started practicing then, moving between several of our favorites. Luka didn't show up again that night.


	13. Chapter 12

I woke up early to the sound of knocking. I put my head up. I was in Gumi's dorm with the rest of my friends crowded around me. Except for Kaito, who was in the kitchen, this time with an _orange_, frilly apron he had found from who knows where. He put down a spatula and went to open the door. His voice and another's carried from the door that was hidden from my view by the couch. The door shut, and two sets of footsteps came back from it.

"Who is it?" I called, pretending that the door hadn't been answered. Whoever the guest was, she had a sense of humor, because she covered her mouth with her hand to pretend she was still outside.

" It's Luka. Can I come In?"

I sigh in false frustration and add a yawn to my words. "Do you know what time it is?"

"10 in the morning."

I got up quickly. "Really?"

Both Luka and Kaito laughed. Kaito answered for her. "No, it's not. It's only 6."

Before my energy could die away, I pulled myself to the table. The smell of cooking bacon was almost unbearable. "Why haven't the others woken up yet?"

"I just put the bacon on," was Kaito's answer. The others were just stirring.

Luka sat down across from me. "So," she started. "Tomorrow's the next concert and it doesn't seem like you have a song ready." I shook my head, already thinking that she now fully understood that we were Vocaloids. "Do you even know what song you're going to do, yet?" I gave my head another shake. "Oh, well you'll think of something." She turned to Kaito. "Where did you find that thing," she said, pointing at the apron.

Kaito shrugged. "It was in Gumi's closet, so I thought might as well use it."

"It used to be mine," Luka said, "But about when I was nine, I decided I was too old for it and gave it to Gumi."

I laughed. "You should have seen him in my pink one." She was about to drop her jaw on the floor, so I continued. "I was planning on throwing it out or donating it, but that was before he wore it." Luka was cracking up at this point. Kaito was looking more and more self-conscious. The smell of frying bacon was starting to rouse the others from their sleep.

Gumi was awake first, or, to be more accurate, half-awake first. "If all of us…*yawn*… went skipping in that crossing." She shook her head. "Hi Miki, Luka, Kai-. Kaito! Where did you get that?"

"Your closet," all three of us said at once.

She blinked a couple more times. "I could have sworn I threw that out. Anyway, hi. We haven't decided on a piece, but we're working on it."

"I can see that," was Luka's response. The smile on her face told me that she was thinking of the words that she had said when she woke up. It wasn't a song I recognized, but Luka did. "You need to decide on one by tonight, or the judges will assign you one."

"What?" Meiko said from the bed. "We never heard of that."

"It's true. They really want this competition over with and their next stars to come forward."

Wow. "We'll think of something," Serena said. "In the meantime, I don't think we want to smell burning bacon." The bacon was starting to get crisp. With an expert flip of the spatula, Kaito launched all ten, yes ten, pieces onto a plate. Well, nine of them landed on the plate; one landed in my hand.

"Hey!" Luka went to snatch it away with an oven-mitted hand. "Don't! It's still hot."

I pulled my hand away from her and whirred my wrist in response. She had already forgotten about my prosthetics. "Oh," was all she said.

Conversation went like that for a while, and with every word Luka said, I could tell that she still didn't fully relate her kid sister and her group of friends to the a capella group she'd been judging. But that didn't last long. My computer started to beep from an incoming message. I opened it up to find that there were four. Three were to the Vocaloid e-mail, one each from Kiyoteru, Professor-san, and Honne-san, and one was to my personal e-mail, also from Professor-san.

"Wow, you're popular!" was the remark that flew across the table form Kaito. That was when his and everyone else's phones beeped from incoming texts. "Make that _we're_ popular."

I laughed dryly at his humor and opened my personal e-mail. Professor-san wanted the Master Choir to sing at graduation on Tuesday. Nothing less than expected, and that was probably what all of us got. I proceeded to the band account. I started with Professor-san's. While reading it, I could feel the smile growing on my face.

"What?" asked Luka.

"The school wants the Master Choir to sing at graduation on Tuesday," Meiko answered.

"Yeah," I agreed, "and they want us to sing Just Be Friends there, too." The reaction was too perfect. Everyone tried to get the first look at my computer screen by crowding behind me. I could see in the reflection all their eyes moving as one down the page, reading Professor-san's eager request for us to sing. They went back to their breakfast, chewing thoughtfully while I opened up my math teacher's email. His was just a sad thank you for being thoughtful enough to warn him of what there was to come. I moved on to Honne's. Now that was a surprise.

"Dell Honne has also sent a request for a song." Another wave of surprise passed through the group. "There is a convention of, well, cyborgs on Wednesday, and they're sort of celebrating a new success in medicinal robotics. They've asked us to sing Imitator on stage." I looked at Piko. "I think you should be the lead."

He looked a bit sour, and I was afraid that he might lose his appetite, but then he recovered.

"I can see why," he responded. "I must be the success. I'll do it."

"But I think we, as in the Vocaloids, shouldn't sing at graduation." Meiko always jumped to the heart of the matter. "Maybe next year at our own graduation. It would be easier to hide our costumes." Her logic always wins.

"Sure," Serena said, and everyone else agreed shortly afterwards. We ate our breakfast quietly, and then continued practicing random songs until evening. Nothing spectacular happened, except maybe Luka joining in around 8-ish, but it didn't matter at that point because we had stopped practicing for the concert and were just singing for the fun of it. Around midnight o'clock, Luka started singing the song Gumi had muttered when she woke up that morning, Gumi joined in, and we all had a glimpse of how close Luka and Gumi had been before Luka became famous. We all crashed by two, and my last thought was that I wished Hiyama-sensei were here. He would have been cheered up by all the music in that room.


End file.
